Skeletal anchors have been used in maxillo-facial surgery for a number of years in the form of semiflexible titanium anchors with multiple screw holes. The screws are attached to various bone components so that the bones can be attached together either because of accidental fractures or man-made surgical adjustments. These types of anchors are now being used in orthodontics with modifications so that forces are applied to objects other than teeth such that the equal and opposite reactions of Newtonian physics is avoided. In orthodontics, these anchors are termed skeletal anchors and attach to cortical bone beneath the apices of the teeth. Often, two or three such anchors are placed in a particular arch for movement of selected teeth.
At times, the skeletal anchor is not able to be positioned in an ideal location or a need arises for the point of force application to be at some distance from the emergence of the skeletal anchor. The skeletal anchors are always made of titanium while any attachment is always made of a stainless steel alloy. The advantage of stainless steel is that soldering and welding can occur with ease which is not possible with titanium. This allows for the attachment of orthodontic fixtures to extend force applications to teeth positioned remote from the anchor.